Bringing the World into your Kitchen

One-year Celebration Giveaway

As we lead up to the blog’s one-year anniversary, I want to celebrate you. Although we’ve never met, here are the things I imagine about you:

You like to cook. Perhaps you like to bake. You dream of traveling the world, seeing new places, new faces. Cute babies make you smile.

Am I right?

Some of you have been here since the beginning, watching the site evolve through each great success and epic failure. Some of you just joined the fun, jumping in with enthusiasm. I thrive on your energy. Thank you all. Travel – even virtual – is so much more fun with the company of friends.

To show my appreciation I am giving one lucky winner (or someone they love ) 45 new French Square Spice Jars.

Here’s what’s awesome about them:

They’re pretty.

The base is square, meaning they won’t turn and pivot on you when you are putting them away.

Your labels will always face the right direction

They fit perfectly in drawers, which is the best place for your spices (dark and cool)

They also fit in any standard spice rack

The caps are brushed stainless steel

They easily hold both whole and ground spices

They are valued at over $100

Most jar sets never hold enough – not for passionate cooks – so I’m giving you 45. That will give you room for ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks. Ground cardamom and whole cardamom. Hurrah!

How to Enter (2 part process):

1) Comment on this post

Tell me about your spice collection. Is it organized? Overflowing? Puny? Massive? Have this blog inspired you to try new spices or flavor combinations? I want to hear all.

Related

20 Comments

Being a college student who just got an apartment this year, my spice collection is very small and totally lame. I’ve been obcessed with cooking for a long time and I’m trying to cook something new every week, which means I sometimes go to the grocery store every other day. I’ve started to buy the nice, high end spices that I know are ligit becasue when you buy them one at a time, its not that bad. I eventually want to buy by the pound to get more for my money, but now all I have are organic red pepper flakes, delicious basil, and cinnimon. I’m working my way up!

My spice collection is massive. I have one huge spice rack that the hubby built for me, and a second one that he built, but still needs to be hung. Many spices still live stacked haphazardly in the cabinet by the stove, and even more are in a box in my pantry… it’s kind of ridiculous, actually. lol. I’m emailing you a pic of my hand holding a great spice mix I got locally. Happy Blog-a-versary!

I so want those jars! I’m going to have to take a photo of myself (ack!) with a favorite spice (how can I pick just one?!) and email it to you.

As for my collection, we’ll, it’s out of control. I do love to cook and bake. I love ethnic and diverse foods. And I have the herbs and spices to prove it! I typically buy in bulk – from an Indian grocer and my health food store. I’ve also ordered online. I have one full cabinet with spices as well as an entire shelf in my pantry. I have some old jars that I refill but it’s definitely a mix and match sort of thing. I use an old coffee grinder (like a hand held electric one) to grind my spices. The crazy part is that I don’t even have store-bought spice mixes, like chili powder! I make it by mixing my spices and grinding, each time I need it. I make my own curry, jerk, Cajun, chili, and Italian. I did buy an herbs de provence mix, though. And I have like 5 kinds of salt and peppercorns. I should send a photo of my spice pantry!

I already did the part with the pic+ fav spice( I saw it on FB). I guess that now I have to tell the world about my spice rack!
I bought a revolving rack that holds my 16 most used spices(outside S&P). It is both modest and practical, since it turns. But, I have a “secret stash” in a large shoe box! Inside, what can’t fit on the rack/ what I use lesse couscous spice, cumin seeds,or small bags of favs. It is a secondary annex for the rack.

Of course; your blog has got my taste buds screaming; I want to try so many and yes, with spices and exotic tastes. Since I live in France, I have been able to acquire more new tastes . We have many different cuisines all throughout Europe and are on the crossroads to Africa.

My interest in Spices had always been haphazard. I remember that first sensation of being in love, similar to that nesting feeling you get when your pregnant. At age 20 I met the father of my children I was so smitten, that I started cleaning the house, and organizing things. Of course my dad thought I was pregnant (LOL). Anyway, I was delving through the kitchen and dusting off my dads old spices and placing them in alphabetical order. I was shocked to find that “Cream of Tarter” was not cream, and that “All Spice” was not literally ALL spices. By the look of some of the jars I could tell they were more than 5 or 10 years old. This was a turning point in my life, that changed me from a ‘come home and eat’ to a ‘come home and cook’ kinda girl. Why? Well, because I wanted to impress my new “boyfriend” I was dreaming of love. So here I am, 20 years later in my own home, feeding my children healthy meals. My spice rack is up to date and located under my kitchen cabinets in semi-alphabetical order. I don’t use them as often as I would like, I think GlobalTable has inspired me to change that. The best zing to come out of all of this is that my children and I are more mindful cooks we have discovered the experiences of adding seasonings to any meal. While we are still learning to cook, who knew that love would lead to dusting, and dusting would lead me to the spice of life. Seems corny huh?
<3

I’m currently living in Kenya in a two-room stone house (moving back to the states in a few months!). Needless to say, my spice collection is haphazard and messy. Spices here are quite cheap, though not high quality, except for the real vanilla beans I picked up in Mombasa at the spice market. I’m hoarding those for special occasions/fancy dishes. I did bring enough spices with me (Anise seed! Sage! Tarragon!) to make our favorites, like pho, and tarragon-butter-mushrooms, and liven up our morning oatmeal (ground cardamom!). Unfortunately, the only place to store my spices and herbs is in a cardboard box which unfortunately attracts spiders. I daydream a lot about a clean tidy kitchen back home and how I’d organize my cooking implements….

I’m emailing you a picture with my fancy prized vanilla beans. Maybe with aforementioned dilapidated cardboard box in the background.

Not only am I a poor college student, but I currently live in a dorm room and do very little cooking–and what I do is all in my parents’ or friends’ kitchens. So my spice collection is, as of right now, zero. :/ I have no idea what my picture will be, therefore–it might be me in my parents’ kitchen if I go home for Sunday dinner, or I might just pick up some ground cinnamon or something when I make my beer-and-fresh-fruit grocery store run.

The jars will definitely go to good use, though–just mostly not until next fall, when I will have an actual kitchen and will be able to keep a good amount of food on hand without it stinking up my living space.

ah! glass spice jars…a dream of mine for a while. i have an overflowing spice cabinet that needs serious reorganization. i cook a ton of indian food, so I am in constant need to reuse spice containers for home made spice blends…mmmm…garam masala. i love learning about how food is connected to culture, so i really enjoy your blog! i strive to cook as authentically as possible, which results in lots of unique buys that end up in my spice cabinet. my most favorite spice spans cultures and cuisines, savory and sweet, is commonly bought ground, but is the best in stick form. yup, cinnamon. thanks for the chance to win these beautiful jars that will look lovely in my cabinet

Great contest idea! I am traveling at the moment but will try to get you a photo soon.

My spice collection is my one “constant” as I move every year or two & travel endlessly for work. I’m currently in Norway for two months and yes, of course, much of my spice collection is here with me. Although I’m compulsively organized in other areas of my life, at the moment my spice collection is a jumble of baggies, mismatched jars, and plastic containers, all piled into a little white plastic bin. And of course my fresh herbs growing on the windowsill and cut in the fridge.

Every time I manage to get my little bin organized, it quickly becomes jumbled again as I search for a particular item. I am trying to be more disciplined about respecting the shelf life of different spices. It’s painful to throw things out, but I find that using “fresh” dried spices makes a huge difference in taste!

I would love those jars! My spice collection is overflowing. I have them on two lazy susans, one small and one big, and both are packed. The smaller one holds the sweet spices, and the larger one holds the savory. One of my favorite wedding gifts (almost 5 years ago!) was a collection of Penzy spices — so beautiful — the medimum chili powder was used up for my great chili recipe. But the rest of my spices are a variety of ones I run out and get for whatever recipe I’m making.

Oh and my spices are all in one shelf in the pantry, along with all of my salts and bottles of oil and vinegar. Those are what really take up space!!!

Now, I’ll have to remember when I get home from work to take a picture.

P.S. I’m so impressed by Ava’s willingness to try all these new foods. My 19 month old, Charlotte, frustrates me to no end with her fickle attitude toward food. She’ll eat the most adventurous types of cheese (a girl after my own heart), but pretty much refuses to eat meat unless it’s in the form of sliced turkey or ham. And don’t get me started on veggies. GAH!!

I’m really enjoying your blog, which I discovered while embarking on my own “eat around the world” adventure. We are going to Bolivia tonight, so my newest addition to the collection is achiote. My spices are housed in an old rock sample storage cabinet, salvaged from the basement of a university geology department. Certainly a big upgrade from my old shoe box – I now have separate drawers for whole spices, ground spices, dried herbs, chillies…

I often read your meal planner and its entries and appreciate how you give us the information. I like your site since, you may remember, our family does a dinner every 2 weeks where we choose a country and we all take part in the dishes. Ohhh Djibouti!! As a result my spices have doubled in the last year, as we partake in different tastes. I have them in different places and well, not totally organized in anything that makes sense. I have a revolving rack, a shelf in a cabinet and an Indian masala dabba. So…. with 100 jars, I think I could finally get them all in one spot!! Yay!.
I love every spice, but one that I cannot do without, which helps bring out all the flavors, is salt. Sal de dedo or finger salt, as they say in Spain. In a handmade wooden bowl. It feels earthy.The picture I am sending is of me holding my wooden salt bowl. That salt will probably stay in its bowl and not in one of the little jars.

My spice “rack” is actually just one shelf in the cabinet over the dishwasher. It’s always overflowing, and it’s so unorganized that Job would give up trying to straighten it out. A few of my Grandma’s spice jars are there. It’s hard telling how old they were when she passed away, and that was 15 years ago. But I can’t bear to throw them out. Somehow they remind me of lazy mornings in her tiny kitchen, listening to Swap Shop on the radio, and enjoying her homespun country cooking.

I enjoy reading the GTA blog. Everything is so tastefully presented and the photos are wonderful! I will confess that a few of the recipes I didn’t really fancy, but most of them look really good! I like the learning experience of discovering the cultures and cuisines of other nations. My world geography is pretty horrid, and often there are maps included that help me brush up in that regard as well.

One thing that I want to see before this journey is complete is a recipe for kim chi. As I understand it, it must be buried several months before it’s ready to eat. So if it becomes an item on some country’s GTA menu, we might need a sneak peek at that recipe ahead of time. I do enjoy the hot and spicy dishes!

My spice collection is huge, I have half of them in a kitchen drawer and the other half in a rotating spice rack on my kitchen counter (which I bought in an attempt to organize my spices). However, I still can never find anything, these little jars would be perfect.

My spices are pretty disorganized: in plastic tubs, Mason jelly jars, from the store spice jars, plastic bags, all taking up scads of space in the pantry you see behind me in the photo. One of my favorite spices is cardamom because it reminds me of the delicious candies we would buy in the bazaar when I was growing up in Pakistan. Sometimes I will make a pale imitation of the burfee with sugar syrup, powdered milk and cardamom.

I would love to win these jars for two reasons. One is the obvious that it would help me bring order to the chaos. The other is that I have been trying to eliminate plastic in my kitchen and these would help me toward that goal.

Since moving, I had to buy new spices/herbs. I’m nowhere near the amount I had before or as organized. However, my Israeli husband has overtaken the amount of spices we have by double – all of them either in the freezer, or tossed into a cabinet, willy nilly. I long for those spice bottles and the organization and order they represent!